Summary:Control a region that delivers true multi-city scale and play a single city or up to sixteen cities at once each with different specializations. Multiplayer adds a new facet to your game as your decisions will have an effect both your city and your region and creates new ways to play byControl a region that delivers true multi-city scale and play a single city or up to sixteen cities at once each with different specializations. Multiplayer adds a new facet to your game as your decisions will have an effect both your city and your region and creates new ways to play by collaborating or competing to earn achievements.…Collapse

A fantastic city simulation that meets all expectations. So perfectly balanced it makes it easy to pick up and enjoy, but proves to be very difficult to master. Funny, addictive and with great options for both co-operative and competitive online play - Sim City is a clear candidate for Game of the Year.

If you have a good look at it, you can see as many reasons to like this new SimCity as to hate it. The required connection offers plenty of possibilities but it is a pain in the ass to lonely mayors. The HUD is elegant and subtle but hides some curious flaws. Finition seems perfect, but several bugs will come to spoil your gaming experience. Anyway, SimCity will make you play again and again, and that's quite a good point.

There are some lovely aspects to the game, that have been developed from the earlier experiences that so many people knew and loved. There’s a great soundtrack, and the game has a polished look about it that makes you want to love it. But underneath, there is so much that’s broken, that I currently wouldn’t recommend the game - as I experienced it - to anyone not willing to go through the pain for a glimpse of the game they once loved.

There's just something disturbing in seeing a game that is part of such a storied and influential franchise sacrifice so much to rush headlong into the social sphere. Perhaps the bugs and shortcomings will be resolved in a few weeks, but until then, SimCity's hidden requirement of additional patience still applies.

If Electronic Arts is going to make a game with the basic premise being that no city is an island, if they're going to stress the interaction among cities, if they're going to make playing alongside other people a cornerstone of the design, if they're going to force my creations into tiny boxes that cannot exist past a certain point without the help of other tiny boxes, they're going to have to do the hard work of making it actually work. And ideally, that hard work should be done before they sell people the game, not after they've been caught flat-footed for botching it so completely.

A good SimCity that is different than it's predecessors, but still captures that typical SimCity feeling. It takes some time to get used to aA good SimCity that is different than it's predecessors, but still captures that typical SimCity feeling. It takes some time to get used to a few new approaches like the city size and the connected cities, but can get you hooked up in no time, leaving lots of options to optimize in later gameplay stages.I'd buy it again, no server problems as welI.
I honestly don't get however people try to give negative impressions without playing the game, or trying to manipulate the rating with multiple accounts that have copy&paste rants that repeat themselves.You don't have to buy, just let the people who enjoy it enjoy it.…Expand

Ok. No big issues with the game itself, city size is the only big flaw. DRM destroys the experiance. Game is unplayable because of EA'sOk. No big issues with the game itself, city size is the only big flaw. DRM destroys the experiance. Game is unplayable because of EA's servers 3 days after release. If Multiplayer aspect was optional and singleplayer was guaranteed without Internet requirement game would have been better. Now it's unplayable.…Expand

I originally reviewed this game on day two after the North American release. I rated it 7 out of 10. I am changing my review to a 2 out of 10.I originally reviewed this game on day two after the North American release. I rated it 7 out of 10. I am changing my review to a 2 out of 10.

When I first reviewed the game, there were serious server issues. While they are still lingering, and servers are constantly coming down and back up daily, the game is now at least playable for an extended amount of time. In my original review, I praised the graphics, interface, deep simulation, and the way they mesh together. I stand by my assessment of the graphics and interface. However, upon playing the game uninterrupted for several hours, as well as doing number crunching, and reading other accounts of people doing the same kinds of observations I have been, I've come to the conclusion that the simulation is not nearly as deep as it appears. One of the great features touted by the developers in this game was the 'GlassBox' engine, which supposedly has literally thousands of 'sims' (citizens of your city) being simulated on the EA servers, which allows a realistic and complex city to emerge on your screen without users needing to own a supercomputer. This conveniently provided their rationale for requiring a constant connection to their servers at all times even while playing single player. This is manifestly false. You can physically disconnect your internet from your computer while playing and the supposedly server-side simulation continues to hum along without a hitch. My complaint here is not about the requirement of the internet connection (though there are many reasons to dislike it), but by the completely invented reasoning behind its inclusion.

In addition to this complaint, there are an entire host of client-side issues which are either bugs, or simply non-features to begin with. The supposedly intelligent traffic system in which "everyone has a home and a workplace unless unemployed", is also false. The "simulation" does not simulate actions of the sims, it simply spawns cars and moves them around in a fashion which would *appear* to show a collection of individual behaviors. Essentially, it "simulates" the simulation. The same can be said for the industrial system, in which supposedly residents work and produce goods, which are then shipped off to businesses to be sold to citizens that made money working & producing other goods. This is also false. Despite showing lots of big numbers when you look at your population statistics regarding "shipped freight", "goods sold" etc, these are essentially arbitrary numbers based on the population of your city (which also over time becomes greatly inflated compared to the number of actual "sims" visible moving about your city) and the makeup of your zones which you have placed. The businesses do not recieve shipments from industry, they restock automatically at the beginning of each game day, regardless of the availability of goods either in your city or your region. It is entirely possible and workable to have a city with zero industry and only residents and shops, with no imports, exports, or production, but the city will "thrive" on. In short, the much touted "depth" of simulation is a complete sham. The real achievement by Maxis is the ability of the game to pull the wool over your eyes and show you what purports to be a much more realistic and complex simulation than previous SimCity titles when in fact, the game is far simpler, less realistic, more limited, and worst of all, dysfunctional to the core.…Expand

I feel as if the SimCity game is not worthy of buying. Receiving annoying errors stop me from continuing my game. In fact, I couldn't start aI feel as if the SimCity game is not worthy of buying. Receiving annoying errors stop me from continuing my game. In fact, I couldn't start a game because of update errors when I go to the start up menu. It's INSANE! I first bought SimCity through Origin and tried to play it. IT NEVER WENT PASS THE TITLE SCREEN. So, I decided to refund the game so I can get my money back. Receiving my money, I went to a store to buy another copy (hoping the first copy was a bust). I install it on my computer, and the same thing happens. It comes up with errors complaining about slow internet connection and that it's keeping the game from updating. My internet connection is full bars, so that wasn't the problem. I began to search the internet to see if people have solutions to this problem. I have tried everything, and still, the game won't load. Many people are having the same problem as me and the fact that EA is not trying to fix it makes me doubt the entire game. I recommend that if you want to blow your money on something that won't work, you can to the right place, because SimCity deserves a 0.…Expand

This game is unplayable. You are placed in a queue for an unspecified wait (mine was almost an HOUR), only to start building and getThis game is unplayable. You are placed in a queue for an unspecified wait (mine was almost an HOUR), only to start building and get disconnected due to the unstable servers. This is unacceptable. Paying good money for a game to go through this many hoops, and EA wonders why Spore was so widely pirated. STAY FAR AWAY.…Expand

Always on DRM/required constant internet connection for a single player game is a failure. Inadequate servers to handle the traffic toAlways on DRM/required constant internet connection for a single player game is a failure. Inadequate servers to handle the traffic to purchase and play the game is a failure. Grats EA on a failed launch for a single player game. GRATS!…Expand

We were promised a great revival of the franchise. Instead we got a really casual boring game that should be rather calledWe were promised a great revival of the franchise. Instead we got a really casual boring game that should be rather called "sim-really-small-town". And yet it costs 80$ has a huuuuuuuuge set of bugs and has the worst kind of DRM ever. To all fans of SimCity3000 and SimCity4 I'd recommend buying CitiesXL and avoiding SimCity 5.…Expand